Ride the Wave to Success

OKP

Anyone who has spent some time at the beach will know that if you don’t catch the wave, it will churn you up, spit you out and leave you with a mouthful of salty water. Sometimes fundraising can be a bit like this, if you miss catching the latest trend, you can find yourself all out to sea or in danger of drowning.

For those working in the Third Sector, where resources are limited and passion is abundant, it can be easy to fall into the trap of focussing on there here and now. But it is much better to be proactive than reactive. Gaining some perspective and anticipating what might be around the corner will ensure that you are poised and ready to ride the wave of success.

At OKP, one of the most valuable things we can offer our clients and industry colleagues, is an insight into emerging trends. Very soon we will be making an announcement about the release of Giving Trends & Predictions 2016, but in the meantime, we wanted to highlight 4 trends our experts at OKP predict will have a major impact on the sector in the coming year.

More PhilanthropistsIt used to be that “philanthropist” was a term reserved for wealthy individuals; however philanthropy is starting to become something more common and accessible. We are seeing donors at all levels be more conscious about their giving and consider how to make the most impact with whatever money they have to give. From an organisational perspective, more charities and non-profit organisations are using the term “philanthropy” in place of “fundraising”. While “fundraising” is sometimes equated with sales and pushiness, “philanthropy” feels like something more important and evokes positive feelings about making real and lasting change.

More Cohesive CampaignsIn an age where our entertainment, education, shopping, banking and personal communication is all experienced through multiple channels, donors accept, and often expect, the same from charitable organisations. As more third sector organisations adopt a multi-channel approach it becomes clear that the most successful ones are those who manage to create a cohesive campaign driven by a compelling story.

More Mobile GivingThe rapidly increasing popularity of mobile giving was evident in the crashing of Vision Australia’s mobile giving service on Christmas Eve. Their system simply could not cope with the number of donations being made in response to the Carols By Candlelight concert and telecast. The Giving Tuesday initiative in the United States recently reported that 17% of their nearly 700,000 donations were made from a mobile device.

More TransparencyLast year Giving Trends explored increasing donor demands for transparency in the special investigation “Show Me the Money”. Since then, we have witnessed even greater interest from donors at all levels in how their support is used. We have also starting to see a shift in attitude towards transparency with less organisations treating it as an intrusion and more viewing it as an opportunity to share the impact of their work.

While anticipating emerging trends is a step in the right direction, deciding if and how you respond is equally important. OKP can help give you the perspective you need to make informed and success-oriented decisions. For more information please call on 1300 721 799 or send an email to enquiries@okp.com.au